Eagle Mtn: Utah Supreme Court to Hear Fmr. Mayor's Appeal

"The Utah Supreme Court will help decide whether a former Eagle Mountain mayor should be entitled to recoup nearly $120,000 in legal fees he incurred while defending himself against charges of misusing public money.

Brian Brent Olsen's lawsuit against the city has been on hold since October when Eagle Mountain appealed a 4th District Judge's decision to deny its motion to dismiss the case." -Deseret News

Commentary: Eagle Mtn. Mayor Jackson's Victory

Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson recently told the Daily Herald the following (see previous post for the story): "Less than 2,000 of the city's registered 7,500 voters turned out, which Jackson said probably shows that many residents are comfortable with the status quo."

To quote the song, "Sorry Ms. Jackson", this in no way shows residents are satisfied with the status quo. Mayor Jackson said it herself, "And with the flu going around, I can't tell you how many people were saying they were too sick,"(Daily Herald).

Mayor Jackson, if anything, this shows that with those that did vote, Eagle Mountain is a divided city. So enjoy your 33 vote victory and feel free to make sure Coop's Market gets built before the end of your new term.

Bolli Announces His Candidacy for Mayor of Eagle Mtn.

Looks like current Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson has some competition.

Regan Bolli for Mayor

Former Eagle Mtn. Wants Money Back Commentary

"Thursday, Gerald Kinghorn, the attorney for Eagle Mountain, argued that Olsen's lawsuit should be dismissed, stating that according to state code, Olsen's request for reimbursement should have come 10 days after he was served with a summons in 2006 notifying him of the charges.

"If he had come to the city and said, 'Look, I've been charged, I want you to be prepared to reimburse me for my attorneys fees if I'm acquitted,' we would have had to undertake something," Kinghorn said. "At least (we would have) known what was coming down the road and (could) budget for it."" - Deseret News

Chase's Take: I am calling B.S. on Kinghorn for saying that if Olsen would have come and told the city that they should have to reimburse him if found not guilty that the city would have complied.

Companies force people all the time to sign documentation stating that if they sue the company and lose, they pay all legal fees to prevent the court system from being overloaded with junk lawsuits.

I am not making excuses for Olsen, but to me this smelt like a junk lawsuit, only this time it was brought forth by the city. I believe the city should pay up. Unfortunately, that means it is coming out of our pockets because our city couldn't prove what they accused Olsen of.

Former Eagle Mtn. Mayor Wants a Refund

"Eagle Mountain may have to start saving its pennies after a judge ruled Thursday that the former mayor can continue with his lawsuit requesting reimbursement for his legal expenses.

Brian Brent Olsen filed a lawsuit against the city in February, arguing that it should pick up the $119,000 tab for the attorney fees he incurred while defending himself against charges in 4th District Court.

Olsen was charged in November 2006 with seven third-degree felonies of misusing public funds for allegedly receiving reimbursements for trips that he never took and meetings he never attended." -Deseret News

Click here for the rest of the story.

Former Eagle Mtn. Mayor Hits City with Lawsuit

Unfortunately this is a lawsuit that Eagle Mountain City is probably going to lose.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Former Eagle Mtn. Mayor Looking for Money from the City

"Acquitted by a jury on Sept. 25, 2008, of seven counts of misuse of public money, former Eagle Mountain Mayor Brian Olsen has now filed a civil suit against the city he once ran, seeking $120,000 in legal fees.
Olsen filed the suit in February in 4th District Court, according to legal papers obtained by the Daily Herald. Eagle Mountain has asked for a 60-day extension to answer the suit, and that request was granted by Judge Gary D. Stott. The city has until mid-May to respond.

According to the suit, Olsen has incurred $119,834.90 in attorney's fees and feels he is entitled to be reimbursed that money according to a provision in Utah law." -Daily Herald

Fmr. Eagle Mountain Mayor Tells "The Rest of the Story"

Olsen said he did not want to resign on Oct. 20, 2006, nor had he planned to.

The city offices were closed on that day, and Olsen had just returned home from picking up his children from school. State Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain; Councilman David Lifferth; Olsen's chief of staff/public works director Mike Wren; and Chris Kemp, a developer, were waiting for him at his house.

"As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle there were three of them standing right behind me," Olsen said. "They wanted to come in the house. I said my wife was on bed rest, and they said, 'You have to come with us now' and they were serious and firm and you could tell they would not take no for an answer." Olsen's wife was in the last days of a fragile pregnancy.

The men then drove Olsen to Eagle Mountain Properties, to the office of John Walden, the developer who founded Eagle Mountain. "That is when they demanded that I resign," Olsen said.

Lifferth handed Olsen a pre-made resignation letter, written as though Olsen had written it, and told Olsen to sign it for the good of the city, Olsen said.

"They put the resignation letter in front of me and said, 'We know you are going to be criminally charged,' " Olsen said. "They said they were no longer going to support me." Olsen noted he had always counted the men as "friends and political supporters."

Wren then accused Olsen of stealing "thousands upon thousands of dollars," Olsen said. Wren could not be reached for comment.

"I said, 'Guys, there has to be a misunderstanding, I did not steal,' " Olsen said.

He said Lifferth then told him about a former mayor having to wear a bullet-proof vest after leaving office and that CNN would be parked in Olsen's driveway, "and said if I did not leave immediately my wife and kids would not be safe."

In an interview with the Herald, Lifferth confirmed the conversation, saying he had been genuinely concerned about the security of Olsen and his family.

Lifferth said he and the others confronted Olsen with a resignation letter because "we were all concerned about what was going to happen to the city when a sitting mayor was exposed for reimbursement fraud."

Olsen said he made a decision on the spot to sign the resignation letter, and then went home and told his wife what he had done.

"You can imagine the disbelief," he said of telling his wife. "We felt betrayed because of who had made the demand."

Olsen took his family and fled the city that night, afraid of Lifferth's warning.

In retrospect, Olsen said he regrets that decision because his sudden resignation and disappearance left a public impression of guilt.

"I understand how people saw it," he said.

With his wife very near her due date, Olsen rented a home in Sanpete County to be near the doctor who had delivered the couple's first four children. Olsen said he naively thought the political storm could be quickly resolved.

"I never believed this would take two years," he said. -Daily Herald, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Fmr. Eagle Mountain Mayor Found Not Guilty

KSL.com is reporting that former Eagle Mountain Mayor, Brian Olsen has been found NOT GUILTY of all charges.

Fmr. Eagle Mountain Mayor Blames Staff

"Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander confronted Olsen with his e-mail asking Ferre to prepare an expense report for a water-law conference in Springdale, asking for reimbursement for driving to and from the conference - an almost 600-mile commute - as well as daily expenses.

Olsen said the e-mail was not a request for an advance, but rather an inquiry into how much the conference would cost so he could decide if he wanted to attend. He said he thought the conference was in Springville, not Springdale.

Olsen didn't attend the conference, but he still got the check, Grunander pointed out.
"You cashed the check on Oct. 6, two days later," Grunander said.
Olsen noted he reimbursed the city for that check, but Grunander said that was a day after an investigator called him about misusing funds." -Salt Lake Tribune

Olsen continued to say that he shouldn't have trusted his staff to submit reimbursements.

Olsen also was handing in reimbursements unsigned.

Details Coming Out Regarding Fmr. Eagle Mountain Mayor's Mishaps

"Prosecutor Chad Grunander explained each of the seven counts to the jury, saying that for one evening meeting in American Fork, Olsen's secretary went but Olsen didn't. Later, he requested her to make a reimbursement sheet for his travel to the meeting.

"She questioned the mayor, confronted him," Grunander said. "She'll describe his reaction, it was somewhat defensive."

Grunander said Olsen told her he had attended a meeting earlier that day. But Grunander said they have another witness who will testify there was no meeting earlier that day.

Grunander said that, weeks before Olsen resigned in October 2006, he asked for a reimbursement for a three-day water-law conference in Springdale.

Evidence will show the conference was only two days long, Grunander told the jury, and witnesses will testify that they were with Olsen on the two days of the conference — including one who had lunch with him at the Ranches Golf Club.

Each check was cashed days after the scheduled event, Grunander said. And the only time Olsen paid the city back was on Oct. 19, a day after speaking with investigators from the Utah County Attorney's Office, Grunander said." -Deseret News

Former EM Mayoral Candidate Pleads Guilty

A former Eagle Mountain mayoral candidate and his wife have pleaded guilty to fraud and racketeering charges.
In Marc, Richard and Kathleen Culbertson were charged in a mortgage fraud case for using their daughter and son-in-law's name to buy a house.

Glad this jackass didn't win.

Former EM Candidate in Court

Both Richard and Kathleen Culbertson were charged by the Utah Attorney General's Office March 5 with three counts of communications fraud and one count of pattern of unlawful activity for allegedly falsifying home loan papers by using fake names and inflated incomes.

For the complete story click here